Davon Allen
Gameplay Engineer
I’m a gameplay programmer who specializes in building interactive systems that support expressive player experiences.
I have experience developing mechanics, AI behaviors, UI and gameplay-driven tools from prototype through production.
This portfolio highlights a selection of projects where I’ve taken ownership of gameplay features and systems, with a focus on how and why they were built.
Portfolio
MECHA vs MAGICA
Technical Director, Gameplay, AI Programmer
PvPvE Multiplayer Prototype — Unreal
1-Week Game Jam Where i led a team of developers who were new to Unreal Engine
Architected PvE combat framework with server-authoritative damage validation and multiplayer-safe health synchronization
Designed modular AI behavior and wave-based spawn scaling under compressed 7-day production constraints
Directed gameplay architecture across a 10-person team to deliver a fully playable Unreal-based prototype
FortNut2.0
Gameplay Engineer, Tools Programmer
Live Multiplayer Systems Overhaul — Unreal
Revived a legacy map to support designer-authored minigames
Rebuilt legacy island architecture into modular, dynamically composable game mode framework in UEFN (Verse)
Implemented server-authoritative voting and runtime modifier injection systems supporting 16-player sessions
Stabilized replication and round-state transitions under live player traffic (235M+ lifetime minutes)
The Pit of Legends
Gameplay Engineer, UI Programmer
Live PvP Bounty & Progression Systems — Unreal
Used by 50K+ players in a live Fortnite Creative environment.
Engineered multiplayer-safe customization, bounty, and vendor economy systems for launch-scale arena (84M+ lifetime minutes, 22K+ peak)
Implemented server-validated transactions and player calling card customization in Verse
Architected seasonal content injection pipeline without destabilizing core multiplayer state
Antithesis – Hybrid Board Game and Deck Editor
Technical Director / Systems Engineer
Hybrid Strategy System & Tooling Architecture — Unity
Hybrid TableTop Game with Minitures and Deckbuilding Demoed at Gencon 2024
Architected data-driven deck editor in Unity with schema-validated JSON pipelines and AWS S3 asset delivery
Implemented asynchronous batching system (25-request throttled queues) to prevent WebGL request saturation
Reduced 500-card content production from ~1 week to 15 minutes via automated CSV to JSON to Publisher pipeline
My Reading & Math Academy
Software Engineer, Gameplay
Educational Game Frameworks — Unity
Built engaging math and reading games for Pre-K - 2nd Grade
Designed reusable gameplay template framework enabling 60+ interactive books to ship in under 9 months
Introduced Unity Addressables, reducing bundle sizes from ~20MB to 5–9MB and stabilizing iPad 2 memory crashes
Reduced book production time from ~60 minutes to ~5–12 minutes via custom CSV to JSON editor tooling
AR/VR & Interactive Systems
Unity Engineer, Systems Architect
AR/VR & Interactive Systems — Unity
Built immersive applications and games for real-world events and commercial clients.
Engineered 20+ AR/VR installations deployed at CES & NAIAS with 12-hour continuous runtime stability
Stabilized full-scale vehicle AR tracking using multi-marker Vuforia alignment under variable lighting
Reduced draw calls by ~50% and sustained 90 FPS VR performance in high-visibility trade show environments